In her first game back from a lower leg injury, Aliyah Boston scored 24 points to power the Indiana Fever to a 90-73 win over the visiting Portland Fire on Wednesday night in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Boston shot 8 of 11 from the floor and also collected eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block for the Fever (3-2). Kelsey Mitchell provided a boost too, scoring 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Lexie Hull added 16 points on a perfect shooting night, making 4 of 4 3-pointers and 4 of 4 free throws.

The Fever played without superstar Caitlin Clark, who was ruled out less than two hours before tip-off. Fever coach Stephanie White said before the game that Clark “woke up with some stiffness and some soreness” in her back.

“It’s not the time to take a chance. We just really want to be cautious,” White said. “… She’s healthy. We’re not managing anything. This is just a back issue that we want to make sure we give the time to.”

Bridget Carleton paced Portland (2-3) in the defeat with 16 points and three steals, while Sug Sutton chipped in 14 points and four assists. Carla Leite made her season debut for Portland after being sidelined with an ankle injury, notching six points, one rebound and one assist in 14 minutes.

The Fever led nearly wire-to-wire and grew their lead to as much as 26 points following a 12-3 run in the third quarter that was highlighted by Boston swishing a 3-pointer from 27 feet out that Mitchell provided the assist on.

Indiana made 9 of 28 3-pointers while holding Portland to a 3-for-16 clip. The Fever also won the rebounding battle by eight, had 21 assists on 28 made-baskets, and scored 20 points off 14 turnovers by Portland. Seven of those assists came from Fever guard Tyasha Harris, who started in place of Clark.

Fever forward Monique Billings picked up a technical foul in the third quarter for bouncing the ball high — showing some emotion — after making a bucket while getting fouled. That technical could lead to a postgame fine as the WNBA tightens its grip on its discipline policies.

Damiris Dantas did not play for the Fever due to a coach’s decision.

–Field Level Media

San Diego Padres centerfielder Jackson Merrill left Wednesday night’s game against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers after four innings with an apparent back injury.

Merrill looked to sustain the injury while leaping to catch Shohei Ohtani’s first-pitch homer to start the game. Merrill was seen stretching his back on multiple occasions during the next three innings.

San Diego manager Craig Stammen and a trainer visited Merrill before the top of the third before permitting him to stay in the game. Bryce Johnson was going to pinch-hit for him in the fourth before Xander Bogaerts flied out to end the inning.

Johnson replaced Merrill defensively before the top of the fifth. At the time of his departure, Los Angeles owned a 2-0 lead.

Merrill fanned in his only at-bat, dropping his average to .203.

–Field Level Media

The Colorado Rockies placed closer Victor Vodnik on the 15-day injured list on Wednesday because of inflammation of the right ulnar nerve, also known as the funny bone.

In a corresponding move, the Rockies selected the contract of right-hander Keegan Thompson from Triple-A Albuquerque. They also designated first baseman Blaine Crim for assignment to clear a spot for Thompson on the 40-man roster.

Vodnik, 26, last pitched on Monday, when he allowed three runs, one hit and two walks on 14 pitches while facing three batters in Colorado’s 7-6 home win over the Texas Rangers.

The right-hander is 1-2 with four saves, an 8.00 ERA, 13 walks and 16 strikeouts in 18 innings over 18 relief appearances (10 games finished).

For his major league career in parts of four seasons with Colorado, Vodnik is 11-9 with 23 saves, a 4.53 ERA, 79 walks and 142 strikeouts in 151 innings over 140 relief appearances. He had career bests of 10 saves and a 3.02 ERA last season.

The Rockies already had starting pitcher Chase Dollander and Ryan Feltner and reliever Jimmy Herget on the IL.

Thompson, 31, pitched in the majors for the Chicago Cubs from 2021-24 and compiled a 17-11 record with five saves, a 3.64 ERA, 111 walks and 225 strikeouts in 227 1/3 innings over 104 games (23 starts).

This season at Albuquerque, Thompson was 1-3 with a 3.34 ERA, 10 walks and 19 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings over 11 games (five starts).

Crim, 28, who had not played in the majors this season, batted .200 with five home runs with 12 RBIs in a combined 20 games with the Texas Rangers and Colorado last season. He batted .265 with seven homers and 35 RBIs in 36 games this year for Albuquerque.

–Field Level Media